Tips for Overcoming the Addiction of Sexual Swinging

Are you addicted to sexually swinging from one person to another? Would you like to overcome the addiction of sexual swinging but are unsure on how to go about in doing so? To help understand where the addiction of sexual swinging stems from and how you can overcome sexual swinging, I have interviewed therapist Jay Noricks PhD.

Tell me a little bit about yourself?
"Following a career in academic psychological anthropology , I changed fields to become a psychotherapist. My book, Parts Psychology , recognizes that all of us have a small set of parts or subpersonalities that determine the actions of the whole person. This is not Dissociative Identity Disorder . It is how all minds are unconsciously organized. One chapter in my book describes the treatment of sexual swinging. In my book ( newuniversitypress.com/parts-psychology/ ), I address the need to neutralize (i.e., heal) both the childhood experiences from which a person attempts to escape and the sexual energy connected to the initial exciting experiences of sexual swinging."

Where does the addiction of sexual swinging come from?
"The ultimate source of sexual swinging comes from the same source as all behavioral addictions: the painful experiences of growing up. Sometimes these experiences are traumatic; sometimes they are merely painful in various ways. Shame, guilt, fear, abuse, anger are all powerful emotions from which the person seeks escape. What is
different about sexually related addictions is the sexual component itself. Sexual energy is powerful enough to maintain a sexually related addiction even after the painful childhood experiences have been healed."

What type of impact can sexual swinging have on someone's overall life?
"There are short term and long term effects. In the short term swinging can bring a powerful energy into a relationship that's become routine or even boring. A couple can find a new zest for life. However, in the longer term, swinging generally leads to the end of the relationship. There are exceptions and this conclusion is based only on my 15 years of observations of a few couples. I'm not aware of any long term studies of the question. However, humans are biologically predisposed to develop feelings of romantic love when they engage in intimate activities with people who are kind and giving. One or both parties to the couple are likely to experience romantic love with those they swing with. Inevitably, this leads to the end of the couple's relationship."

What are some tips for overcoming the addiction of sexual swinging?
"Ideally, a couple will find a sex therapist prior to engaging in sexual swinging. Once involved in it, they are unlikely to stop unless one of the parts to the couple feels oppressed by the activity. If this is so, at least the party who wants to continue swinging should work in individual therapy to overcome this compulsion. If the relationship is to survive, both should be involved in therapy."

What type of professional help is available for someone that is addicted to sexual swinging?
"Marriage and family therapists, especially those with experience in working with sexual issues, would the most likely place to find help. However, even among these therapists, the couple should look for someone who is nonjudgmental about sexual swinging. Ideally, the therapist should recognize that the addiction is not driven just by the sexual excitement of being with new partners. It becomes a problem addiction of a compulsive sort because of the painful life experiences from which it is an escape. The work in therapy would best address those experiences in order to detach sexual drive from compulsion."

Thank you Dr. Noricks for doing the interview on overcoming the addiction of sexual swinging. For more information on Dr. Noricks or his book you can check out the website newuniversitypress.com/parts-psychology/ .

Recommended Readings:

Female Sexual Arousal Disorder

Female and Male Orgasmic Disorders

Sex Therapy